Monday, October 30, 2017

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

                          From my husband, the lover of Halloween. . . Happy Halloween!

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Dark

Yesterday morning I woke up in the dark.  A high wind rain storm had started during the night and the power had gone out in the early morning hours.  I did not know the time as my bedside clock was out.  It was so dark in my bedroom that I could not see anything not even the shapes of the furniture.  It was total blackness even the view out of the bedroom window looked totally black.  My anxiety built up sharply.  I have never liked the dark.  It has been that way since I was a child.  That is the reason there is always some kind of light burning when I go to bed at night.  It doesn't even have to be in the same room.  Just enough light for me to see.  The sight of that light fills me with a sense of safety and security.  I don't know why just that it does.

Yesterday morning I woke up in the dark.  I lay there trying to make out where the bedroom door was.  I went back and forth on whether I should get up and try by touch to find my way to the kitchen to get the flashlight.  That debate ended when I realized my body was unwilling to move from the bed.  I clutched my blankets tightly and closed my eyes and tried to breathe my way to a calm place.  In my head, I said my favorite prayer, the Our Father.  I repeated it and repeated it and slowly I started to feel that calming sense of safety.  Something told me to open my eyes.  I did and as I looked in the direction of my bedroom window, I could see that the early light of dawn was beginning to appear. 

Now some people might say that when the power went out, it was close to sunrise and it was all coincidental that I had started to pray at that very moment.  But to me, I believe what happened was that God took my darkness of fear and gave it light and put me in that safe, secure place until the dawn came upon me.

"For you, LORD, give light to my lamp; my God brightens my darkness."  Ps 18:29

"God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all."  1John 1:5

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Oh, save me from Halloween !!!

My husband loves Halloween and I do not.  When my 71 year old husband goes into a Halloween store, he turns into a mischievious 6 year old.  He has to press every button to make ghosts dance, witches cackle, werewolves growl and vampires slurp.  He also spends a good amount of time trying to convince me into putting a giant, inflatable monster on the front lawn.  Oh, save me from Halloween !!!

Sunday, October 1, 2017

October 1 - Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

                                              (this post is reprinted from October 1, 2016)

St. Therese's teachings of how to be holy, how to be a child of God, and to be close to God, she called "her little way of spiritual childhood." She learned that being holy is very simple – it involves trusting God with confidence and doing ordinary things in life with great love. Her "little ways" is about doing little things to please people, bring a smile to someone's face and heart, reaching out to let people know they are special – and accepting disappointments with patience not anger.

                                                          "My God ...I love Thee!"

                                                                               -St. Therese of Lisieux